Hello my dear friends, it has been a while. So much change going on here, one of them being that we have decided to back to homeschooling this school year. (I will do a more detailed post on that later)

I think the biggest question for me was which curriculum to use with two kids in different grades. I knew I wouldn't buy a whole boxed curriculum for both, because I wouldn't be able to keep up with doing two separate lessons on history, science and bible.

So after much thought and prayer, I decided on Adventures into US History by My Fathers World. This will be the "Core"; which covers History, science, music and bible. I will not be following the schedule/teachers manuel exactly, instead I will make it work for us.

So, lets take a look at this years choices.

Our "Core" curriculum for both 1st and 4th grade

For Bible, we will be reading Who is God and my daughter and son get their own journals. I am so excited to read this book, I have heard great things.

I am also so excited to read this Dinosaurs from Eden book. It should help explain all the questions the kids have about where and when dinosaurs lived. I picked up the workbooks at the Target dollar section for us to learn the names of the dinosaurs.

We will also be doing a lot of nature journaling. I bought this beautiful Nature Anatomy book and a Nature Journal for my daughter. I still have to get a journal for my son.

Spectrum reading; so she can practice reading and answering questions for her state test.

BJU spelling and BJU english to practice grammar and her writing skills.

I wanted to find a math curriculum that was computer based for my daughter. That way she gets her lesson taught to her by on the computer (I am not a math person) After reading tons of reviews, I decided to try Teaching Textbooks this year. I will let you all know how we like it later.

Well that about sums it up. We are so excited to start homeschooling again this year.

I grew up in a large family, and some of my favorite memories was going to u-pick farms with my 7 siblings. We had so much fun racing around the fields, playing tag, hide and seek and off course picking some berries (most of them went into our tummies, but I think we did mange to help once we were a little older). Not only did we go to berry picking, but we also picked tomatoes, bell peppers, walnuts, apples, peaches and so on. We live in the NW, so there are an abundance of u pick farms, so whatever was in season, we picked in bulk.

My mom then would can, pickle and freeze whatever we didn't eat. I think I get my love for the country side from those memories. The sweet smell of hay, the beautiful country roads, the stunning views and the peace and quiet.

Last week we went cherry picking. The kids LOVED it! Climbing trees and ladders, eating the delicious cherries, feeding the goats and chickens. We certainly made a lot of our own memories today to.

It's not always easy, but it is beautiful nonetheless. We all go through trials in life, and we will keep going through them until we learn whatever we are meant to learn from each one.

Trials are not a bad thing, and we should not fear them. Trials purify us. They make us better, stronger, smarter, kinder, etc..

There have been times when I have gotten so busy with life, that when I suddenly looked around and feel like I am drowning. I was struggling to do it all myself and when that didn't work, I would get frustrated and upset. It's during those times, I have to remind myself, that God has got this.

He knows everything, and everything that happens in our lives, happens for a reason. It may be a stepping stone for something big in the future, it may be a trial that we have to endure to make us a better person. It may be a chance to help another person in need and show them God's great love.

Once that clicks, you start seeing things in a different way. Your world gets calm. You no longer feel like you are trying to control a little dingy on a stormy ocean, because you know that God has got this.

Trusting God is easy until it comes to the point where you really want things to go a certain way. I have noticed this with myself many times. When I really want something to happen, I pray and try to shape things in my life a certain way so it happens. That is not trust. That is manipulation. And I am guilty of doing that many times. I don't always realize I am doing this until I feel stressed and worried. Thats when I realize I have been trying to manipulate things to happen in the way I want. When we trust God completely, we know He will take care of us weather things go as we want or not. We understand that everything that happens in our lives, happens for a reason.

And that feeling we get in our hearts? Oh, it is the most amazing feeling.

You suddenly realize that you are not on my own. God cares so much about you. You are his child, and like any father, He wants the best for his child. So when you say you trust God in a certain trial in life, Do you have that peace in your heart? The feeling you get when you know that God's got this?

Life is beautiful. Life is short. Enjoy every moment. Don't spend it worrying, stressing or trying to control everything yourself. Give God a chance to show you that He's got this.

Sunshine, sleeping in, pool days, and nothing to do. It doesn't get any better then that.

We decided to kick off our summer break with a little vacation. We drove to Central Oregon and stayed at the Sunriver Resort. It was ah-ma-zing! I can't tell you enough how good it was to spend so much time with the family. My husband works 6 days a week, 12+ hours a day running and managing his business. So to be able to spend 5 days together with him was such a blessing.

We got so much sun, spent at least 5 hours a day at the pool, and ate so much good food.

Last weekend we went on a little getaway to the Oregon Coast. We went to Lincoln City (off course) and stayed in our favorite beach house. It was Ah-Ma-zing!

The weather was great, the food was perfect and most importantly it was so nice to get away from everything and spend time with our family and friends.

The kids had an amazing time playing with their cousins, I had a wonderful time catching up with my sisters, and even had some me time. My younger sister got me up before everyone else was up and we went on a jog on the beach. Now if I got to go on a morning jog on the beach everyday, I would like jogging a lot more. It was perfection.

It was so great to kick off our "summer" with this little trip. Technically school isn't over until the end of June here (those darned snow days extended our school year) but we are planning to squeeze in as much fun as we can. Hubby and I talked about doing a summer bucket list, everything we want to do this summer. I think it will be a great idea.